Case Study: Zendesk expands global web presence to 160 countries and launches 10 localized sites with Smartling

How Zendesk expanded its customer service innovations to 160 countries (and counting)

Zendesk, a customer service software company serving customers in 160 countries, had translated its core product into 40 languages but still offered many non‑English users a pared‑down web experience. When Kaveh Gharib became Director of International Expansion in 2016, manual content processes and heavy developer dependence made scaling localized web content impractical, putting global growth plans at risk.

By deploying Smartling’s Global Delivery Network to automate content exchanges between sites and translators, Zendesk removed developers from day‑to‑day localization, launched 10 localized websites in the first six months, and embedded localization earlier in content planning. The change increased agility—enabling rapid testing in underserved markets, data‑driven content strategy refinements, and better results from the same budget.

Zendesk

Kaveh Gharib

Director of International Expansion